Register on UCAS Apply see instructions on Page 2. How to use UCAS APPLY 2018 Complete the sections headed PERSONAL DETAILS, EDUCATION and EMPLOYMENT by the end of term (Friday, 21 July 2017) use guidance on pages 3 6 to help you. You will need to add any AS results, including module results, in September. Do this as soon as you know your results see page 5. The sections headed CHOICES and STATEMENT must be completed in September. Guidance on how to write a good personal statement is included in this booklet on pages 9 and 10. Then print off a copy of your application and give it to your tutor, along with a completed APPLICATION SUMMARY SHEET (see example on page 13). References will be written in the order that applications are received; be aware that applications submitted after the end of Term 1 are likely to be held in a long queue. You are also unlikely to receive a full reference if your application is submitted after November. If you are applying for Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine or Veterinary Science, or to Oxford or Cambridge, the school deadline is Monday, 25 September 2017. Some conservatoire courses have even earlier deadlines check with the Sixth Form Team if necessary. Your tutor will check through your application and suggest any changes that are needed. Once this is done and your tutor is happy, go to PAY/SEND. The cost is 24, unless you only apply for one course, in which case it is 13. Make payment directly to UCAS via credit or debit card. Visa, Delta, MasterCard, Maestro (UK-issued only), Solo and Visa Electron (UK-issued only) credit and debit cards are accepted. If this is a problem, you should come to the Sixth Form office. Only now should you give a new printed copy of your application and application summary sheet to your tutor. Your tutor will pass the paper copy on to the Sixth Form Team, who will also be able to see your application online and will now write your reference and send your application to UCAS. If the Sixth Form Team needs to return your application to you for any further amendments, you will be notified via the email address you have used on the application. When UCAS receive your application, you will be able to follow your progress through the TRACK system on the UCAS website. 1
1 Registering: Go to www.ucas.com. Choose Undergraduate Apply and Track Start or continue an undergraduate application Register and apply for 2018 entry. To register on the UCAS system is a 10-step process in which you ll need to provide all your personal details etc. Once this stage is completed, you ll be given a username, password, four security questions to which you should provide answers, and eventually a 10 digit personal ID. These are important so keep a record of them! When logging in first time after registration you ll need to answer some initial UCAS questions : o You re applying through a school, namely Backwell, so the buzzword they ask for is backwell18 (in lower case). o Choose your relevant group (either your tutor group or Early Birds if you are applying for the October deadline). o And make a note of your personal ID. 2 Now, start the full application. It looks impossible, but is fairly simple! Use the guidelines provided in this booklet. When logging in, you will see a column on the left-hand side of the page containing five boxes of the sections such as personal details * that must be completed. You can work your way through these at your preferred speed and order; if you are in the middle of completing a section but have to leave, you can simply save, log-out, and continue later. When you have finished filling each of these in, and have pressed save, section completed, a red tick will appear next to the relevant section. When all these are completed, you will have to Pay/Send. But you can only do this from 6 September 2017 onwards. * If you are worried about giving out personal details in the application, you can view a copy of the Data Protection Act 1998 on the UCAS website (http://www.ucas.com/terms_and_conditions). 2
Personal Details Name: Make sure you don t abbreviate your name. For example, don t write Becky if your name is Rebecca. Also list any middle names. Email address: Don t use an address with anything silly in the title, open a new account if necessary. Ensure that you check it on a regular basis for messages from UCAS, universities or even the Sixth Form Team during your application. Do not use your school email address as this will have been withdrawn by the time results day arrives. Area of Permanent residence: This will be North Somerset for almost all of you, unless you live in Bristol itself where your local authority will be Bristol. Reference numbers: Backwell School does not provide Unique Learner Numbers, so leave this blank. Student support: Use the code 02, unless you are applying for certain health professional courses such as nursing, midwifery, dental hygiene, dental therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, radiography, chiropody, and speech and language therapy (05 DH/Regional Health). However, medicine is 02. Student support arrangements: If your fee code is 02, this will be North Somerset for almost all of you, unless you live in Bristol itself where your local authority will be Bristol. If your fee code is 05, this field will be blank. Nominated Access: This is useful if you are going to be away during your application period, for example on a gap year and you would need someone to deal with your application on your behalf. But don t forget to give that person your username, password and UCAS personal ID! Disability/special needs: Dyslexia would fall under the category of a specific learning difficulty. You can also give further details of any special needs. 3
Choices Remember, you have five University course choices (except when applying for medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine or veterinary science, which are four + one different course). It is possible for you to choose only one or two, but we recommend you opt for five. This gives you a wider choice later on! Note that many universities make offers based on a total points score. Points are awarded for all formal qualifications, such as A Levels, CTECs and Extended Project Qualifications, and also for highly valued achievements outside of school, such as music grades. A full list can be found on the UCAS website, but for A Levels you get 56 points for an A*, 48 for an A and so on, dropping 8 points for each grade. AS Levels are worth 40% of full A Levels (e.g. 20 for an A), but are not counted separately for courses taken to full A Level. You should check university points offers carefully as many contain extra conditions, such as grades in particular subjects or a requirement for a certain number of points to come from full A Levels. For more information, see page 7. Campus code: Don t leave this blank! The little hyphen in brackets means main campus and must therefore be indicated. Start date: If you want to take a gap year during the academic year 2018/19, and wish to start university in September 2019 (academic year 2019/20), you will have to choose September/October 2019 to make a deferred entry. Otherwise, say no if you want to start in September 2018. Point of entry: You don t need to worry about point of entry. This is asking from what year at university you want to start, e.g. second year or third year. It is only relevant for those who have studied at university before. Education For the highest level of qualification, you need to choose below honours degree level qualifications. If you search for Backwell before entering your education history, Backwell School will be the only available choice. The centre number should appear automatically, but make sure it is correct: 50601. If you joined the school in Year 7 and have not repeated a year, your start date is September 2011; if you joined in Year 12, your start date is September 2016 (and you will have to enter GCSE qualifications under your last school). Enter your end date as July 2018. Enter all of your qualifications, choosing the appropriate type from the list. You need to check the awarding organisation (exam board), using the list on page 8. GCSEs The qualification date for these will most likely be 08/2015. Note that if you took Double Science, you should enter it as Double Award. If you have retaken a GCSE (English or Maths), you need to enter both results with the appropriate dates (the date will be 01/2017 if you retook in November last year). 4
A Levels Enter each A Level subject that you took this year under Advanced Subsidiary Level (AS). The only exception is where you have not sat the AS exam, for example in Art. Enter the units that you took this year and update the grades when you receive your results sheets in August. The qualification date will be 08/2017. Now enter the subjects you are intending to continue into Year 13 under Advanced Level. The qualification date will be 08/2018. The units that you need to enter in the Advanced Level section will vary according to the subject. For the following subjects you should enter the A2 units and also enter AS units again: Art and Art Graphics, Biology, Chemistry, Computing, Economics, English Language and Literature, History, Photography, Physics, Psychology, Sociology, Textiles. For the following subjects enter the A2 units and only add the AS units if you are retaking them: Applied Science, Creative Writing, Drama and Theatre Studies, Geography, Maths and Further Maths, Modern Languages, Music, Music Technology, Performing Arts, Philosophy and Ethics, Physical Education, Product Design. For Advanced Level qualifications all the unit and overall grades should be left as pending, as you will be taking these qualifications in the summer. You must list all subjects you are taking in 2018, otherwise we will not be able to give you predicted grades! CTEC Courses/Applied Science Search for OCR and select OCR Cambridge TEC. Usually, you will be following an Introductory Diploma, but if you take enough units you may qualify for a Subsidiary Diploma. If in doubt, check with your teacher. Other Qualifications The HLPQ and Further Maths GCSE should be entered as Edexcel or AQA Level 2 certificates respectively. If you have taken an Extended Project, enter this by clicking the link and put the qualification date as 01/2018. You can also add other qualifications that count towards UCAS points, such as music practical and theory qualifications at grade 6 or above. You must already know the result for this; it cannot be put down as pending. You might also wish to add other pending qualifications, such as STEP papers, but it is not compulsory to declare these at this stage. 5
Employment If you have a part-time job, then it would be a good idea to include this. If you are currently working, then you don t need to put in a date indicating when you have finished or will finish; that way it will read to present. Statement See pages 9 and 10 for guidance on personal statements. View all details When all your sections are ticked you can view the whole application and print a copy for your tutor to read. Pay/Send When your tutor has returned the printed copy of your application and you have made any necessary changes, click Pay/Send. Don t worry, this does not go straight to UCAS but it is now available for the Sixth Form Team to add the reference. 6
UCAS Tariff Music Performance Music Theory GCE Qualifications OCR Level 3 CTECs Points Extended Project Grade Grade AS Level A Level Introductory Subsidiary 6 7 8 6 7 8 84 D*D* 78 D*D 72 DD 60 DM 56 A* D* 48 A D MM 40 B 36 MP 32 C M 30 D 28 A* 24 D PP A M 20 A B 18 P 16 B E P C D 12 C D D M 10 D M P D 9 M 8 E D P 7 M 6 E P D P 5 M 4 P Tariff points are available for a number of other qualifications, such as dance exams. Please see the UCAS website for a full up to date list. However, you should note that some universities only recognise tariff points gained from particular qualifications, such as A Levels. It is therefore important to check carefully on individual university websites. 7
Exam Boards GCSE SUBJECTS and Exam Boards AS/A2/A LEVEL SUBJECTS and Exam Boards Art and Design: All subjects AQA Applied Science AQA Business Studies OCR Art: All subjects AQA Computing OCR Biology Edexcel Dance AQA Business Studies OCR Design and Technology: Child Development AQA Chemistry Edexcel Design and Technology: Fashion and Textile Design AQA Computer Science OCR Design and Technology: Food and Nutrition WJEC Creative Writing AQA Design and Technology: Product Design AQA Critical Thinking OCR Drama Edexcel Design and Technology: Product Design AQA English WJEC Digital Media OCR English Literature WJEC Drama and Theatre Studies Edexcel Geography AQA Economics AQA History Edexcel English Language AQA Mathematics AQA English Literature AQA Media Studies AQA Extended Project AQA Modern Languages: French, German and Spanish AQA Geography AQA Music Edexcel Health and Social Care : Level 3 Diploma OCR Physical Education Edexcel History AQA Religious Studies Edexcel Mathematics AQA Science (BTEC Applied Science) Edexcel Music WJEC Science (Double Award) AQA Further Mathematics AQA Science (Triple Award) AQA Modern Languages: French, German and Spanish AQA Sociology WJEC Music Technology Edexcel Work Skills (BTEC) Edexcel Performing Arts : Level 3 Diploma OCR Physical Education OCR Physics OCR Psychology AQA Religious Studies: Philosophy and Ethics AQA Sociology AQA NB: The exam boards for GCSEs are only correct for ex-backwell students. Students who joined the school in the Sixth Form will need to check the details of the exams sat in their previous school. 8
Personal Statements Guidance on preparing your UCAS and Art Foundation Personal Statement The following notes on preparing your personal statement are a guide to the type of information you might wish to include. The more competitive the subject for which you are applying and the more popular the university/college, the more vital it is that you include substantial reasons to explain why you are applying: i.e. Sections 1 and 2 need to be very strong and to dominate the statement. The following is a standard structure for a Personal Statement: Section 1: This should be a strong opening explanation of the reasons why you want to follow your chosen course. It should not be short and may run to more than one paragraph. Section 2: In this section you should discuss any experiences that you have had that are relevant to your application. This might include reference to A levels, work experience, work shadowing, a course you have been on, a relevant part-time job, relevant Community Action, etc. Again, you may need two or three paragraphs. Tip: Don t be vague over how long you did something for if what you did was substantial. Admissions tutors regard vagueness as a cover-up. Section 3: In this section you describe other personal achievements that are of interest. You are trying to show that you are an individual with something to offer the institution(s) you are applying to. Normally, this section will be at least one paragraph in length. Section 4: This final section should leave the reader with a lasting impression about you: make them want to offer you a place on their course instead of someone else. Remember: Correct spelling, punctuation and grammar matter. Try to link much of what you say to the course you are applying for. Don t just list your experiences; try to explain (at least some of the time) how they have affected you. Most people prepare their personal statement in Word, and then paste it into UCAS Apply. Whatever font you use, UCAS Apply converts it to its own format when you import it. In UCAS Apply you have up to 4,000 characters including spaces: when you save, the system tells you how much you are under or over this limit. 9
Example Personal Statement: I would like to read English Literature and French at degree level, because it is such a fundamental part of everything I enjoy. I love writing poetry, lyrics and plays, while I also relish gaining inspiration and knowledge from reading and analysing all types of literature in both English and French, in particular the work of playwrights, which has grown out of my passion for all aspects of the theatre. I read poetry, because I enjoy the challenge of interpreting the way poets express their ideas through language, structure and punctuation. In particular, William Blake s Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience has been interesting and instructive to read in respect to cultural and social development. His ability to write in simple poetic style, yet conveying effective radical ideas amazes me. His was a time of social and political revolution particularly influenced by the French Revolution and the likes of Jean-Jaqcues Rousseau. This part of cultural history is what has raised my interest in Literature and French. I have always been an avid reader. The diversity of my reading material is due to my curiosity about the different ways in which writers express their ideas. My preference is for novels which provoke a distinct reaction because of their peculiar themes or the extraordinary writing style of the author. I find that the work of Ian McEwan has this effect on me, and similarly the writing of Iain Banks, whose ability to captivate his audience with his often surreal and horrific contents intrigues me. In class, I am particularly at ease when participating in the discussion of texts; my contributions have matured along with my breadth of knowledge and my clarity of expression in written work as my Sixth Form studies have progressed. As a progressive learning subject, I found that it was important to practise my French outside of class. For this purpose, I have taken up a variety of activities. I frequently go to the cinema or watch French films, write to my French exchange partner in Lyon and read French novels, such as Les Grand Meaulnes by Alain Fournier or Madame Bovary by Flaubert. Being involved in a variety of voluntary schemes to improve the English skills of younger or less able students has enabled me to gain a greater understanding of English. This involves working for Kumon, a project designed to provide extra support for children between the ages of five and sixteen, who find literacy challenging: I explain to the students how they can improve and why they have made mistakes. Community Action work at a primary school in Year 12 prepared me for this task as I spent the majority of my time taking sole responsibility for groups of younger children; it also improved my communication skills, my ability to meet deadlines and work under pressure, skills that are proving invaluable at A Level and will continue to play an integral part in my university life. During my Gap Year I shall be going to Peru for five months to teach English as a volunteer. This is a project I have been planning for some time: having to raise a significant figure in order to fund the trip has greatly improved my time management, teaching me to balance my commitment to my academic studies with various part-time jobs and fundraising schemes. I believe the experience will be extremely beneficial and my role as a teacher will give me a purpose within the community, thereby immersing me in a culture very different from my own and broadening my outlook on life. I feel that the experience will encourage my approach to new ideas at university to be open-minded, and look forward to the intellectual development and challenge that will come from reading English Literature and French at University. 10
Higher Education: making the right decision Tutors and the Sixth Form Team will be available to give advice about choices, but there are many other very useful sources of information for students and their parents. Use the websites of individual universities and colleges (these are.ac addresses) but here are a few other useful sites: Finding out what area of study is right for you http://www.morrisby.com Finding out about different courses and required grades http://search.ucas.com this is the most popular way to look at courses on offer Comparing different Universities and Colleges http://www.unistats.com/ allows you to compare entry requirements, job chances and student satisfaction http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/universityguide includes quality of teaching, teacher-student ratio amongst other measures http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ a popular site for forum discussion where you have access to current students http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/university-tuition-fees/other-financial-support/bursary-grids/ find out what financial help is offered then check on the university website http://www.push.co.uk/ this site is written entirely by students Getting a job after University/College http://www.prospects.ac.uk/ the graduate website http://www.hecsu.ac.uk/current_projects_what_do_graduates_do.htm Finding out about visiting http://www.opendays.com/ one site for all Colleges and Universities 11
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Application Summary Name: Tutor Group: When your application is complete you must print out a full copy, attach this sheet to the front and hand to your TUTOR for checking. CHOICES Full Name of University Course Title and Code Grades/Points (e.g. BBC or 88-104) Entry Requirements Extra Information (e.g. 104 points from three full A Levels or Must have B in Maths) RESULTS AND PREDICTED GRADES Subject AS Grade (if taken) and UMS (e.g. C 136/200) Number of units being retaken (if applicable) Predicted A Level grade Teacher Signature 13